Paris: What is this planet we have landed on?

Wednesday, July 1st

We got to our hotel at 1am this morning. We are still married and friends, so obviously nothing will break this team up. What an exhausting day !

We slept in and when we gathered we dragged ourselves across the strret for much needed coffee, croissants and omlettes. Jen and I said the organized list of things to do, was thrown out the window and it ws a day to stroll and relax. The guys were sure that once the caffeine hit we would be back in overdrive, but no way. We chatted with an American (sitting next to us at breakfast) who is here for a year while her husband works. She was with her French instructor and they were very helpful wjfb our basic needs for that moment,,,coffee, tipping and then strolling.

My French seems to be worse than my Italian, and that's saying a lot. We are staying at The Champs du Mars hotel. It is small, cute and has no air conditioning (it's 86 today. The people are friendly but very subdued. The woman at the desk did smie when Ken politely asked "do you speak French?" She said "Yes I do and I also speak English".



We feel like we are on another planet...one more organized, more subdued than planet Italy. One that loves their dogs. Driving in last night, we saw how beautiful it is ll lit up.

On our stroll today, we wlked to the Eiffle Tower (close by) and cooled off in the misters they have running. A liitle girl (about your age Dakota) saw me throw my head back and smile while getting sprayed and did the same. We both got the giggles and took turns being silly. Some things are te same no matter what planet you're on ! Sally

After some time to rest this afternoon, we decided to take a stroll in the Rue Cler neighborhood and eventually have dinner. By the time we decided to eat, all of the restaurants were full. We had to wait for about 20 minutes for a table, but it was well worth the wait. We all decided to be brave and try the French cuisine. Sally and Jeanette had duck, Brian had sea bass, and I had steak tartare. I was the bravest! For those of you who don't know what steak tartare is, it is raw steak topped with a raw egg! I figured that you only live once, and what a better place to try this dish. It was really pretty good, although I will always take one of my Dad's steaks anytime.

We all agreed that we need to take this day at the pace we did. Also, we decided to have a late breakfast tomorrow so that we will have the energy to take a cruise down the Seine tomorrow night. It is supposed to be very beautiful at night.

Paris is very different from Italy. Where we are staying reminds us of the Upper West side of New York City and Central Park. The Champ du Mars Park was full of children playing, teenagers gathering, tourists strolling, and many people having a picnic. It is truly a beautiful city. Not that Italy is not beautiful, Paris is just more organized! Italy has soul and Paris had attitude (not in a bad way). Ken